North America has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Prescriptions have increased 400% percent since 1999, and with this trend a shocking increase in fatal overdoses has followed. Every day, 40 people now die from prescription narcotic overdoses. Many also move on to heroin because it is cheaper, easier to find, and more potent.

Could cannabis be part of the solution? Quite possibly. An increasing number of studies provide evidence that many patients can use cannabis instead of opioids to treat their pain, or they can significantly reduce their reliance on opioids.

A University of Michigan March 2016 study published in the Journal of Pain provides some compelling data. They found that cannabis:

Decreased side effects from other medications

Improved quality of life

Reduced use of opioids (on average) by 64%

“We are learning that the higher the dose of opioids people are taking, the higher the risk of death from overdose,” said Dr. Daniel Clauw, one of the study’s researchers and a professor of pain management anesthesiology at the University of Michigan Medical School. “[The] magnitude of reduction in our study is significant enough to affect an individual’s risk of accidental death from overdose.”

Kevin Ameling, a chronic pain patient who now works for a Colorado-based non-profit cannabis research advocacy group called the IMPACT Network, is a success story. Ameling believes cannabis saved him from a life of dependency on prescription drugs. In 2007, he suffered a severe fall and was prescribed a cocktail of prescription drugs that included OxyContin, Tramadol, Clonazepam, and Lexapro. The pain became so severe that he had to progressively increase dosage while the OxyContin became less and less effective.

Living in Colorado, he decided to try medical marijuana in 2013. He claims he achieved results immediately and was able to significantly reduce his prescription intake. He cut his OxyContin dosage by 50%, reduced Clonazepam from 3 mg to 0.5 mg, Lexapro from 30 mg to 5 mg, and Tramadol from 300 mg to 75 mg.

“It’s hard to express in words what a life changer medical marijuana has been for me,” said Ameling. “I was becoming increasingly worried about having to take higher doses of prescription drugs that can be highly addictive and toxic. Not only was I able to cut back significantly, with cannabis I can often skip the OxyContin with no adverse effects, something I couldn’t do before.”

Published: February 2, 2018

The elderly (+65 years of age) represent a rapidly growing cohort of medical cannabis consumers, so a better understanding of cannabis’ efficacy and safety in these patients is needed. To address this, a recent survey was conducted in over 900 elderly Israeli patients who used medicinal cannabis for at least six months.

Regardless of strain preference, 93.7% of patients reported that cannabis improved their symptoms after six months of use.

In this study, 75% of the patients had no prior history with cannabis consumption, making this a powerful assessment of the onboarding experience in the elderly. Most patients began using cannabis for pain-related conditions including cancer pain, but a smaller number of patients were using it to treat chemo-related nausea, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and Crohn’s disease. While THC-forward strains were the most consumed, CBD-rich strains were especially common in patients suffering from pain, chemotherapy side effects, Parkinson’s disease, and inflammatory diseases.

Regardless of strain preference, 93.7% of patients reported that cannabis improved their symptoms after six months of use. It was particularly helpful in reducing pain, on average reducing pain from an 8 (on a scale to 10) to a 4. This reduction in pain led 15% to entirely stop their opioid pain medications.

Overall, cannabis use improved quality-of-life from “bad” to “good” with few adverse side effects. The most common side-effects, dizziness and dry mouth, were reported in only 10% and 7% of patients, respectively. Two percent or less reported confusion, disorientation, or weakness.

Together, these findings strongly support the safety and efficacy of medicinal cannabis in an elderly population for treatment of pain-related conditions.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are more prevalent than alcohol or drug abuse in the U.S. Yet, only about 25% of those who suffer actually receive treatment. Unfortunately, the consequences of untreated anxiety could lead to various other problems, including: acute suicide risks, alcohol or substance abuse, depression, sexual disorders and secondary illnesses.

About 13.1 Million People in the United States Suffer from an Anxiety Disorder

Panic Attacks

One of the most severe forms of anxiety consists of panic attacks: a problem we commonly treat at our Center. Often panic attacks occur for no medically detectable reason. Being human with imperfectly functioning physiology’s, we are all vulnerable to occasional physical symptoms such as chest pressure or pains, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, a case of the jitters, or feeling vaguely unsettled or “weird.”

But the anxiety-prone person, rather than ignoring those discomforts, dwells on them, magnifying and prolonging them by thinking: “I MUST know precisely why I’m feeling like this; I MUST be certain it’s not serious; I MUST never lose control or act crazy; I MUST not do something stupid or look foolish; I MUST have a guarantee I’m not going to die; I MUST not make myself look anxious.”

Fired by such unrealistic notions, the anxiety-prone individual creates out of the air, feelings of fright, while rigidly adding uncomfortable situations and increasingly circumscribing his or her life.

The solution consists of recognizing that the MUSTS — but not the preferences — are false; and although it would be highly preferable to avoid discomfort, it is never a MUST. We do not always HAVE TO feel entirely comfortable and we usually will not. Although it would prove lovely never to unduly upset ourselves, being human and imperfect we assuredly will some of the time.